After an offseason crammed with inquiry about their place within the faculty soccer world, together with being unceremoniously disregarded of the School Soccer Playoffs Florida State College is lastly exploring their choices when it comes to exiting their Grant of Rights contract.
Florida State BoT voted to approve the submitting of a lawsuit towards the ACC that challenges the grant of rights.
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 22, 2023
As a refresher, the Grant of Rights is an settlement every ACC crew signed in 2013 in response to Maryland leaving the Huge Ten. This primarily gave their rights to broadcast their video games over to the ACC, not the person faculty. This deal is prolonged by means of 2036, as a result of again in 2013 the thought was that not one of the faculties would attempt to depart the convention.
Properly, a lot for that.
At Florida State’s Board of Trustees assembly, the ‘Noles primarily stoked the flames for his or her eventual departure, stating that the Grant of Rights shouldn’t be allowed and the college ought to be capable of depart the convention when it needs to with out paying the exit charge. The exit charge can be the remainder of the Grant of Rights contract stacked on prime of an enormous withdrawal penalty, which has risen since 2013 when Maryland left to hitch the B1G.
How a lot would that exit charge be? Properly, let’s simply say I hope you saved some additional Christmas cash:
So, now that we’ve set the stakes for the ultimately messy breakup, the longer term ramifications could possibly be large.
Initially, there’s no method Florida State can increase $572 million. That’s an insane amount of cash that may greater than possible have to return from slicing different smaller applications. Earlier within the low season, reviews surfaced that the Seminoles had been wanting into a personal fairness fund to boost capital, however nothing was ever confirmed out of these reviews. Both method it goes, they don’t have the cash to straight up simply go and depart, therefore why they’re analyzing the Grant of Rights once more and difficult it.
It’s additionally price noting that this isn’t the one ACC faculty that has appeared into the Grant of Rights. In gentle of the USC and UCLA transfer to the Huge Ten this summer time, Florida State (together with Miami, Clemson, UNC, NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech) all had been “totally” analyzing methods to get out of that Grant of Rights contract. But, nothing got here of it however feigned unity on all fronts. In the course of the season, because the Pac-12 stood on its final legs, the convention added Cal, Stanford and SMU, which appeared like it could easy issues over, proper?
I assume not.
Make no mistake about it, this transfer is extra concerning the Seminoles coming into a unique convention to make more cash as a substitute of the CFP snub. Whereas the snub may’ve been the straw that broke the camel’s again, this transfer is principally being introduced on by FSU wanting extra money.
On Thursday, the ACC filed a lawsuit towards the Florida State Board of Trustees, claiming that any jurisdiction must occur in North Carolina, the place the ACC headquarters are positioned.
This might be messy, and there’s going to be lots of attorneys concerned. We’ll hold you up to date on this ongoing saga.